Chronic kidney disease (CKD), also known as chronic renal disease or chronic renal failure, is a progressive loss in renal function over a period of months or years. CKD can be caused by a variety of conditions and mechanisms, and affects both humans and other mammals, in particular cats. Renal function in geriatric cats progressively declines over time, leading to end-stage disease.
Different approaches to preventing the progression of renal disease have been attempted, including protein-restricted diets, the control of hypertension with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, diet substitution of saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats, and treatment with immunosuppressants such as mycophenolate mofetil (MME), corticosteroids such as prednisone, and morphogenic agents such as bone morphogenic protein-7 (BMP-7). None of these treatments have reliably stopped or reversed disease progression, though some experiments with BMP-7 have shown promise. There remains a need, therefore, for better treatments for chronic kidney disease.